More than bargained for
by Sylarismine
Summary: Claire meets a kind stranger whom she falls in love with, just as he falls in love her. But there is much in store for this new couple, more than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**Finally after a month, I've made Heroes into a bit of a spin off series with only a few of the main characters. I don't want to ruin it for you, so I'll let you find out on your own. Also, not appropriate for anyone under the age of 18. Disclaimer, I don't own anything Heroes, just my imagination for the characters. Review are my life force! please and thank you. **

"I didn't want to risk breaking it trying to take it apart and reset the whole thing." My mom had been looking at my watch so intensly that I was afraid of her breaking it more than me. "At least let me pay for the repairs. You don't have to use your own money that you've worked so hard to get." "Mom, please. I'm a big girl and can take care of going into a watch shop to get it fixed." "Alright, I'll go get us something to eat. Meet me back at the park we passed earlier." "Ok." For a moment I watched her diappear around the corner as I looked around for the shop.

It took me a few minutes, and then I found it. Walking up to the shop, it looked big from the outside. Until I opened the door and discovered how small and yet comfortably sized it was on the inside. I half expected a bell to let the shop owner know someone was there, but as I shut the door, it had a heaviness to it that wasn't a slam, but so that it could be heard when it closed. "I'll be right with you." I walked around the display cases of completed watches while behind the counters, were shelves of watch parts. "How can I help you today?"

I went into shock at the face that appeared. His whole appearance made me think of superman, well Clark kent. Snapping myself out of it, I walked right up to the counter and took out my watch. "I need to get this fixed." He gently picked it up and looked the whole thing over. "This is a stainless steel diamond seiko. You should be a bit more careful when carrying it around in your pocket." I'd felt like a child again. But no one except for my dad made me feel like that. I didn't even know what to say. "I can fix this in just a few minutes." "Alright, I'll be right here."

He disappeared to where he'd come from, I could hear what he was doing and had become rather curious to see how he fixes watches. But I couldn't do that, it would distract him from his work. The shop continued to suprise me, there were so many parts to a watch. I stopped at the end of the counter and saw one watch that looked like was currently being worked on. I reached out and barely touched one of the parts. It was so small, how did he do it without breaking anything? There were probably special tools for it.

"Miss?" I turned to see he'd come back out and was holding the watch. "The crown and winding wheel just needed adjusting, also the time was off by three minutes." "Thank you, how much do I owe you." I took out the cash from my pocket and counted it. "That won't be necessary." "No, I can't let you do that." "It's no trouble at all, please." He reached out to give me my watch, and as I put my hand out, he swiftly put it on my wrist. "Thanks." I smiled weakly as he smiled right back. "Your very welcome." I turned and left the shop while my heart skipped a beat.

The park wasn't very far, and as I got closer, my mom was sitting down with the food. "Hey." "Oh, sweetie there you are. I hope you're hungry." "I'm starving." I sat down across from her and took the food out of the bag. "So, your watch fixed?" "Yep. The watchmaker told me the wheels were stuck. He even told me not to worry about paying him." "Well, that was kind of him." My mom and I ate in silence for about ten minutes and then we got up to leave. "I'll throw this away and meet you at the car."

As my mom walked the opposite direction, I turned and went to find a garbage bin. There weren't any by the park for some weird reason, so I walked back and headed towards my mom. On the corner of the street, I found a bin and tossed the garbage into it. The road was busy, but stuck in place so I crossed through the traffic. "Claire!" I heard my mom screaming my name, and then the sound of scretching tires. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, as I started to run my foot caught and I was falling to the asphault. There was no time for me to get up and book it across the rest of the road.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the horrible sound of my body crushing underneath the car. Until a pair of hands wrapped around me and then everything was normal. It happened so fast that I opened my eyes to see that I was on the sidewalk. My heart was racing, and I clung for dear life to the warmth that envelloped me. "Oh my god Claire!" My mom ran from the car to pull me into a hug. "Sweet jesus, I thought I was about to lose you." "I'm ok." "I can't thank you enough for saving her." "It's New York, everyone saves someone." I recognized that voice.

My mom walked by my side and got me into the car as she turned to face him. "Thank you again, mr..." "Gabriel Gray." "It's nice to meet you Mr. Gray, I'm Sandra Bennett." "You as well Mrs. Bennett. I hope Claire makes a speedy recovery." He turned and left as my mom hurried to get in the car. Once we got home, she again walked by my side. "Mom, I'm fine really." "I just want you to take it easy. Go lay down and I'll make some hot cocoa." "I do love hot cocoa."

My mom was tentive for the next few days, always trying to watch what I was doing. whether it was just reading a book or going to take a shower. But all the while she didn't know what I was thinking about. More particularly, who I was thinking about. Gabriel. I couldn't get his name out of my mind, and it took all my energy to not run out of my apartment and go see him right this very minute. Living in New York had been great, but I wanted to experience more of it. I wanted to see central park, maybe even go shopping.

"Mom, I'm going to get some groceries." "I'm coming with you." I heard her in the bedroom, grabbing the keys and putting on a jacket. "Please mom, I'll be fine. I'm just going to the store that's up the road." She looked diappointed. I couldn't look at her when she did that, so I left. The store wasn't full of people as I made my way inside with a small cart. We didn't need much, I stuck to the essentials of meals. Overall, I took half an hour and had finished bagging everything. Walking the cart back, I picked up the bags and headed back home.

"Mom? little help." I set the bags down on the dining table and went to the bedroom. "Mom?" I looked throughout the whole apartment, finding her cell and keys. Why is it so cold? I noticed the window to the fire escape was open. I reached out to close it, but something outside caught my eye. "Oh god, mom!" It was my mom, she was sprawled on the cement ground. I ran down the fire escape, all six floors. I dropped down by my mom's side and pulled out my cell, dialing 911. "911, what is your emergency?" "I need an ambulance in the alleyway behind the Oak wood apartments." "Dispatch has been alerted, they'll be there as fast as they can."

I'd hung up five minutes ago and I didn't hear any sirens yet. "Mom, please!" I cried over her, knowing she was dead. "Back up!" I was forced away as paramedics surrounded her. "Hey, what's your name?" "Claire." "Claire, I'm Peter. Can you tell me what happened?" "I got back from the store and the window was open. I looked down and saw her there." "Are you related?" "She's my mom." "Alright, we're going to get her taken care of. I'll need you to come with me."

I'd been in the interrogation room at the precinct. What could the police ask that the paramedic Peter didn't? "Miss Bennett, how are you feeling?" "Fucking great." "Please obstain from such profanity." "I have the right to it." "Well, we have a few questions for you. Can you tell me where you were between two o'clock and two forty?" "At the store." "Ok, and when you got back to the apartment, nothing was out of the ordinary?" "Everything was the way it was before I left. except for the window. I'm sure it was just my mom opening it."

I finally got out of the interrogation room. Angry, I pushed the entrance door open and ran out. But something stopped me. I'd ran into someone and fell back on my ass. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." "Are you ok?" Gabriel? I looked up and it was him. "Yeah, I'm fine." I brushed myself off. His hand caught me off guard as he unstuck a thorn from the back of my hand. I hadn't even noticed I'd been scratched by the plants. "I'm so sorry about your mother Claire." "Thank you." I couldn't stop the tears that flooded my eyes. I wrapped my arms across my chest and hugged myself.

I was taken back by his arms that gently took me into his chest. "Is this ok?" I nodded my head against him and pressed myself into his warmth. This was probably as close to him as I was ever going to get, so I enjoyed the moment. Wait a minute, "What are you doing here?" I'd pulled away to ask him. "I have a friend that's an officer I'm going to talk to." "What's his name?" "Parkman." "I don't think I met him." "He's higher in ranking and is trying to figure out what happened to your mom." "That's nice of him. I'm going to go home." "Hey, lock your door ok?" "I will."

Gabriel had seemed genuinly concered and I liked it, but then maybe he was like that with everyone he knew. I crawled into bed, tired after the last few hours I went through. More than anything, I wanted to wake up from this nighmare. Hoping that it was all a dream. The second my head hit the pillow, I felt myself drift off to sleep. "Claire!" "Mom!" I reached out for her, I was going to save her. "Take my hand." "I love you Claire." Her hands slipped and she fell into the darkness. "No!" I was sitting up in bed, sweating and breathing hard. "It was just a dream." I told myself. Getting up, the clock read seven forty-two am. Ugh, too early.

I poured myself some water and chugged it, my mouth had felt so dry, even my throat hurt. My mom was gone, and it was..weird. I'd wake up everymorning to the smell of her pancakes. I'd come home to hear her vacumming. I would never have those things again. I was all alone, Lyle had gone off to college and my dad died after my birthday three months ago. What was I going to do? I wanted to feel something, anything but this. Out of anger I took out the kitchen knife and drew it across my skin. The sting of the blade distracted me, when I dropped the knife, I went to wrap the cut on my arm but it was gone.

For an hour, I cut myself and each time the cut would heal. What the hell? I kept doing it until the kitchen was a mess of my blood. Bored with the knife, I cleaned up and decided to try something else. I went into the bedroom and opened the window. Stepping out onto the fire escape. It was only yesterday that my mom fell from the seventh floor and died. What would happen to me? I stood up on the railing and climbed over. For a moment I enjoyed the cool wind and then let go. I was falling and then before I knew it, my body was mangled. My shoulder popped out of place and my leg was broken in two places.

It hurt as I pushed my arm back into place and reset my leg. But as soon as I healed, there wasn't any pain. Like it never happened, I would never have a scar. "Call an ambulance! Miss, oh my god don't move!" A woman was running up to me, and screaming. "Don't move, you may have broken something." She saw me, I shouldn't have been so careless as to not think that someone might see me. There was a man at the end of the alley that was on his phone, and within minutes I was being put on a gurny. "I'm fine really." I tried to move, but I was pushed to lay down.

I'd been taken to a hospital and the doctors were confused. "She doesn't have any injuries." "That's no possible, I saw her fall from the railing." The woman from before pushed her way through and began ranting about me being pushed. "Can I please go home?" The doctor didn't say anything as he signed the discharge form and I was able to leave. Just as I reached the motion sensored doors, Gabriel came running in. Good god, does he have some sort of radar detector attached to me or something?

"Claire, I heard what happened are you ok?" "I'm fine. Let me guess you know a doctor here." "Yes I do. Her name's Emma." "Ok, well I just want to go home." "You're going to walk?" "Yeah, how else would I get home?" "Let me take you." "No, you don't have to keep being so nice." "I like being nice Claire." He took my hand in his and lead me outside. "Do you trust me?" I was suprised at his question, but my answer was as just. "Yes." "Close your eyes." Gabriel took me into him and then I felt weightless. It didn't last very long, but I had enjoyed the feeling. "You can open your eyes."

I was back at my apartment, but how did he get me here so fast. "I'm seriously confused." "Claire, I can fly." "You're serious." "I know you can heal, it was easy to figure out." "What's wrong with us?" I can't believe this, first I discover I can heal, from probably anything and now Gabriel can fly? What is happening to the world? "It's an evolutionary imparitive Claire. Have you heard of Chandra Suresh?" "My dad talked about him once, he said there was a theory about human evolution." "It's not a theory Claire. It's really happening, human's are evolving."

"How is this possible?" "Nothing is impossible Claire." "I just...this is all so crazy." "I thought so to when I discovered my first ability." "Wait, you have more than one?" "Yes, the one I had naturally, and the others I aquired from others." "Like what?" "Well, there is telekinesis." I watched as he raised a hand and carefully moved a heavy potted plant that was on display across the street. "Wow." "I have many others, but one of my personal favorites is the hearing." "Hearing?" "I can hear things from far away. Like right now, there's a fire truck heading this way.'

We were silent for five minutes and then I heard the sound of the sirens. "That's incredible. Tell me another." "Ok, I can detect when someone is lieing." "How does that one work?" "Well usually when someone lies, to me I can feel the vibrations, like the lie detector at a police station how it recognizes the heart beat." "So if I said that I was twenty-six.." "That's not true." "Damn, ok one more." "Shape shifting." "Like changing into someone else?" "Exactly." "Have you done it before?" "A few times."

I'd asked Gabriel inside and he gladly accepted. "Do you need help?" "With what?" I was only pouring myself more water. "With anything." "I think I'll be fine." "You should be more honest with yourself Claire." For a moment there I thought he was going to tell me to be more honest with him. I was being as honest as I thought, but he was right. How in hell was I going to do anything on my own? I looked up to find he wasn't sitting on the couch, but standing right in front of me. "It's ok to ask for help Claire."


	2. Chapter 2

A month had passed since Gabriel insisted I move out. He'd been more than kind to having me move into his apartment. It was one hell of a change, but I'd gotten used to it. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My dad and Lyle were as bad as boys could be, but Gabriel had been a perfect gentleman. He was so different from anyone else, and I liked the friendship that was developing between us. It started out slow, but then picked up pace in the first two weeks I'd been here. We continued to get closer as friends, but I could see how he looked at me. I looked at him the same way and wondered if he noticed.

I'd gotten out of the shower and wrapped the towel around me before walking out into the bedroom. Rather annoyed with my hair, I pulled it to one side and ruffled through my drawer and pulled out clean clothes. Ugh, I'm tempted to cut my hair. "I might be able to help." "Do you even know how to cut hair Gabriel?" "No, but I usually have a knack for trying and doing a damn good job." I didn't even think about it as I moved around him and located the scissors. "Go ahead." I handed him the scissors. "I trust you."

I remember looking at myself before putting something sharp in Gabriels hands, and then when I looked at myself again it seemed like I was a completely different person. My hair was long past my breasts, and now it was short, just past my shoulders. I had half a thought that Gabriel had been gay in a previous life. "I probably was. Oh, and your welcome." I turned and smiled at him. "Thank you. That really saved me forty bucks." I hated the price for haircuts and found it rather ridiculous. I went back into the bedroom and changed into my clothes. All the while running my hand through my hair.

Tired from a long day, I laid back on top of the bed sheets. "Claire?" "Yeah." Gabriel came in and picked my feet up so he could sit on the bed, letting my feet drop in his lap. "I have something to ask you." I sat up and looked at him. He held onto my feet, practically giving me a footrub. "Do you think maybe, if it's not to embarrassing or uncalled for, would you go on a date with me?" "Are you kidding, yes!" For a moment before I said yes he looked rejected and then his face lit up.

I'd wanted to go out with Gabriel since I first laid eyes on him and now I had that chance. After I'd said yes he'd got up and left. I assumed that he wanted to plan it down to the last detail. I could only imagine what he was planning, but there was no doubt in my mind that he would top what I'd been thinking. Pushing all and any thoughts out of my head, I tried to get to sleep.

The smell of food cooking woke me, still rather groggy I got up and sleepily walked into the kitchen. The table was hidden beneath a hot plate of pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and bacon, and fresh squeezed orange juice. "Did you really just do all of this?" "Along with the whole day planned out, yes I did. You must be hungry." I sat down as Gabriel handed me a plate and I dished myself a little bit of everything. "Oh god, this is so good. Did you use bacon grease to make the pancakes?" "I did." "My mom made them that way too. She'd make them every morning before I went to school." It was a fond memory, and one I cared so much for that it made me smile.

The day I spent with Gabriel came to a close as we were walking along the water front. The sand beneath my feet couldn't have been softer, and the water was gentle and cool against my skin. There was barely any light left as the sun was setting beyond the waters edge. Gabriels hand was warm and and smooth against mine that I never wanted to let go. "There's one last thing to do." I raised my eyebrows at him jokingly and he smiled as he took a bandana from his back pocket and carefully covered my eyes with it.

I let him guide me, but I nearly stumbled as there were steps that had to be taken. "Are we there yet?" "Just a little further." His hands were firmly holding onto mine, and then they were gone. The blind fold came off and I saw in front of us a romantic table for two. I hadn't anticipated Gabriel as the very romantic type. This was more than I ever would have expected. It looked like it was literally taken out of a fashion magazine. "This is amazing." Gabriel held out a hand and I gladly took it.

He'd sat me down by pulling out the chair and pushing it in as I sat down. Sitting directly across from me, we had a wonderful dinner and a very suprising dessert. "I can't believe you did all this." "I'm glad you like it. There is another part to this one." As he'd said that, a small group of people came out with instruments and began playing. "Would you like to dance?" "I would." As Gabriel took my hand once more, he spun me towards him and I immediately recognized the titanic theme song being played. "Have you been poking around in my head Mr. Gray?" "Ever so slightly Miss Bennett."

To really finish the end of our day, Gabriel held me in his arms and flew us back home. I'd been so astounded by him that once we were back, I tilted my head up and leaned in to kiss him. He kissed me right back. I wasn't on cloud nine anymore, because cloud nine couldn't compare to this moment that made me feel something so entirely new. I wanted it to last, but Gabriel pulled away. "I don't want to take advantage of you Claire." "You deserve a little advantage." "Claire, there is one ability I want to share with you." "What is it?" "As am empath, I would touch you and be able to understand you completely."

"What does that mean for me?" "I would absorb your ability." "Would I not have it anymore?" "No, quite the contrary. You can't lose an ability through empathy." "But you would have it too?" "Yes. Claire, you do understand what this would mean to me." "You want to be immortal. We would never grow old, we would never die." I understood completely, in his own way Gabriel was telling me he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with me, and I wanted the same. "Exactly." "Ok." I let him take hold of me, suddenly I felt his mind invade me. Like we were both watching my entire past on a movie screen up until this point in time of my life.

"Whoa, that was...that felt funny." "It's different everytime." "You've done this before?" "The abilities I told you I aquired, I got through empathy." 'Oh." I remembered when he'd told me that he got the abilities from others. I let out a yawn, tired after everything we'd done today. "Go get some sleep, we did have a long day." I turned and went to the bathroom to let my hair down and brush my teeth. Back in the bedroom I changed into shorts and a tanktop before climbing into bed. The sheets were cool as I curled up and closed my eyes in the darkness.

I was laying in a meadow of wild flowers surrounded by green and white ash trees. It was all so beautiful as the sun came out from behind the clouds and lit up the sky while warming my skin. Gabriel lay beside me, our hands entwined together. "I love you Claire." "I love you too Gabriel." I leaned in to kiss him, but suddenly the sky turned black and all the plants around us began to wither and die. I couldn't believe what was happening, and then Gabriel was not longer with me. He stood away from me, his eyes darkened to the same color as the sky. He looked at me with a horrible grin on his face, like he wanted to kill me.

"No!" I found myself back in bed and clutching the sheets tightly in my hands. "Claire, look at me." Gabriel was there in front of me, his eyes weren't black anymore. He touched his hands to my face, and I buried my head in his chest. "It's ok, it was just a dream." 'It felt so real. You were, you changed and were trying to kill me." "I would never do anything to hurt you."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and lifted my lips to his. It was all a bad dream. This is real, right here right now. I'd noticed that it was nearly four in the morning. Gabriel stayed with me, holding my hand as I laid my head on his chest and tried to get back to sleep. I could only hope that once I was sleeping again, that I won't have a repeat of that horrible dream.

The sun pierced my eyes as I woke up and noticed that Gabriel was gone. He wasn't anywhere in the apartment, and I couldn't let myself freak out. I'm sure he's just out doing something and then he'll be back. Not very hungry, I poured myself some orange juice and chugged it. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was and poured myself two more glasses. I kept looking over at the clock every now and then. After sitting on the balcony and reading for about an hour, I noticed that it was just after noon. I couldn't help but think something was wrong. Gabriel wouldn't leave without saying something.

I watched as the sun finally set and Gabriel still wasn't back. I'd called the police, but of course someone has to be missing for two days before they'd be able to report it. Fucking cops. There wasn't anything else I could do. I certainly wasn't going to leave the apartment, there was no doubt in my mind that I would get lost and couldn't find my way back. It's possible that Gabriel might come back, butt after I'd been contemplating and thinking, I took one more look at the clock. Midnight, right on the dot.

I couldn't sleep knowing that Gabriel was out there somewhere, and I couldn't do anything about it. When I heard a knock at the door, I ran over and pulled it open. "Hi, Claire right?" "Yeah, and your Peter the paramedic." "That's me." He smiled sideways like a little boy. "Is Gabriel here?" That did it, and I broke down crying. "I haven't seen him all day, he's never done anything like this before." "Ok, just breathe, did you look for a note he might have left?" "I've looked everywhere, and there's nothing."

"Alright, I want you to stay here, I'm going to call a friend and have him check it out while I check the places he's likely to be at." "Ok." He'd dialed my number into his phone so he could call me with anything and then he left. Why didn't I think of that? I remember that Gabriel mentioned someone named Parkman that was a detective, why didn't I ask for him when I was on the phone with an officer earlier? Either way, he was being contacted now because Peter probably knew him too.

A week had passed and I wanted so much to die rather than feel this pain. I yearned for Gabriels touch, his lips to gently graze over mine, his hand to wrap into my fingers. I was so afraid that something horrible had happened to him, I knew he wasn't dead, because he couldn't die. But the possibilities of him being tortured were too much to bear. "I'm so sorry Claire, but the search has been called off." "What? No!" "There's nothing we can do." "There has to be something, what about branching out to other police precincts? Beyond New York?" "It's not in the jurisdiction to do so." "Fuck Jurisdiction. If the god damn police won't help, I'll go out and find Gabriel myself."

I'd stormed out of the apartment with no plan and thought towards what I was going to do to find Gabriel. To start, I looked in his shop, maybe he'd been there and I might be able to find something. It remained the same, nothing was out of place. Gabriel had kept it so and that gave me nothing. I cried again. But it only made me even more determined to find him. I walked out into the alleyway and took a deep breath. Focusing, I saw Gabriel in my mind. My anger was boiling like a pot of water on a stove. Forcing it away, I felt myself become weightless.

"Oh my god!" I suddenly realized and looked down, my feet weren't even touching the ground anymore. How was this possible? I could fly? If this had anything to do with my anger, I did the same thing again and felt a pull. Like my blood was out there and I was moving towards it. Letting myself go, I raised higher into the air and let my body take over. I was high above New York, it was so beautiful. But I couldn't let myself get distracted. I noticed that I was heading south.

I landed in what I'm sure was Cuba after about an hour and a half. I could only hope that I would find Gabriel here. I didn't care how long it would take me, I didn't care what I had to do, I was going to find him. When I'd let him take a part of me so that he could be immortal, I felt him as if I would always know where he was. That part of me was here in Cuba. Whatever lay ahead, wasn't going to stop me. I would do whatever it takes to get to Gabriel because I know he would do the same for me.

Just as long as it took for me to get here, I'd blended in and began to peak around. At first nothing, until I heard a few people talking in english. "He is the one we want, right?" "Yes, with all those abilities we'll be able to put our plan into action." "But do we kill him? Do we get to kill him?" "No, boss said to just extract the abilities." "So what are we waiting for?" "His pretty little mouse to come find us, we'll do the same to her." Fuck, they wanted to take away the very thing that makes us different. And then what? what happens to us after that? No, I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Let's go get a drink. He won't be going anywhere, and it'll be a while before the girl shows up." "You don't think he should be guarded?" "Nah, he's out cold." I stayed hidden, and as they walked off I headed around the back and pulled myself through an open window. Falling on my ass, I looked up to see Gabriel passed out and chained to the floor. Crawling over to him, I lifted his face. He looked like he was sleeping. "Come on, wake up. Gabriel!" He moaned as I hesitatingly slapped his face. His eyes opened and he looked shocked to see me. "Claire? No, get out of here." "I'm not leaving here without you." I searched around the room for anything to break the chains.

Back in front of him, I put the cutters I found in place and broke through the chain wrapped around both his wrists and ankles. "This is more than bargained for when I fell in love with you." I cut away the last chain and he stood straight up. "I'll take that as a compliment." I walked him towards the way I'd come in and got us both out without being seen. "Fuck, where the hell did he go?" "How did he break those chains?" "It doesn't matter, we need to find him and fast." I heard them loud and clear. Gabriel wrapped his arms around me and rose high into the clouds.

"We can't go back to New York, where will we go?" "Somewhere no one will ever find us." "Oh let me guess, some remote cabin in the middle of nowhere." "It's secluded, but not too remote. And it won't be in the middle of nowhere. We'll be by the water." "You never cease to amaze me Gabriel." I smiled like a little girl who got the pony she'd asked for every year on christmas. Everything was falling back into place, only to be even more perfect.


End file.
